millcreek

it seems as though one of my favorite activities is going to soon come to an end for a short time. sadly but surely, i am going to have to retire my bicycle in the near future...and i'll tell you why i know this. it is getting brrrrrrreathtakingly cold. okay, so that is a bit of a stretch. normal activities during the day time hours are totally doable. however, riding down a shaded canyon on a bike is not. i know this because i did a little science experiment. the bitter cold won! i went on a real fun bike ride yesterday - well, the first half was fun. i rode up millcreek canyon. it is a great ride. brighton and tyson, my new salt lake biking buddies who claim to ride a tandem in their speedos, blazed the way for me. (please note, they were not on a tandem or in their speedos for this ride.) i slowly followed behind. tyson was full of great biking tips that i am sure have already made me a better biker and stories about falling off lots of mountains. (wait a minute, why am i trusting this guy?) my new found friends were really encouraging and nice. they almost had me fooled - acting like i was keeping up with them. however, i figured it all out when i saw them riding in circles at the top of a hill. they told me they were just practicing a technique. come on boys, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you were waiting for "the girl". when we made it to the top my legs were spent, my feet felt like frozen creamsicles, and i was ready to be done climbing. at the top of the canyon b-tone, t-bone (as they so affectionately call one another), and i swapped treats like elementary school kids during lunchtime. we traded hammer gel shots for sports beans and sports beans for powerbars. the assortment of energy foods made for a well rounded meal. i knew the descend was going to be cold, but i didn't realize it was going to be frigid. i was positive i would be braking and shaking a lot more than the boys so i shewed them ahead. i was so cold on the way down that my whole body was shaking. i thought it might help to stop and warm my hands up when i hit a patch of sun. however, the chill in the air with the wind coming at me like bullets of stinging nettle about did me in. the cold air was absolutely disabling. i just kept trying to think grateful thoughts. thoughts that the leaves looked really beautiful and that i was thankful brighton and tyson rode ahead and couldn't see how ridiculous i looked with my body in it's convulsive shaking state. at the bottom of the canyon, when i turned up the road to brighton's house, i realized that i have never been so grateful for a hill to climb up and warm me up. please note the pictures at top. picture #1 is what millcreek canyon looked like as we started our ascend. picture #2 is what millcreek canyon felt like as we descended. (i spoke to the boys during a team meeting after and they too were freezing.) super fun memory! however, it was a little disheartening to be a part of this precursor event - my bike being attached to my trainer for the winter months. thank goodness for cross coutnry skis. they'll get me through...